Press release, 23 July 2009
FOFI – Friends of a Free Iran intergroup (FOFI) in the European Parliament held a meeting on 22 July in solidarity with the Iranian people’s ongoing uprising against the ruling religious dictatorship.
Press release, 23 July 2009
FOFI – Friends of a Free Iran intergroup (FOFI) in the European Parliament held a meeting on 22 July in solidarity with the Iranian people’s ongoing uprising against the ruling religious dictatorship.
Struan Stevenson, MEP and Chair of FOFI, explained in his opening remarks about FOFI’s objectives in defence of democratic change in Iran and in support of the Iranian people and their democratic opposition. He said, “After the recent events, it has become clearer that the objectives of Friends of a Free Iran were exactly congruent with the legitimate demands of the Iranian people. “ He strongly criticized the EU’s policy of appeasement towards the regime, pointing to remarks by the representative of the European Commission who stated during the Parliament’s plenary session in Strasbourg recently that, “We have to set up a student exchange program with Iran and broaden our cultural ties”! In response, Stevenson added, “I could not believe what I heard. While many students have been murdered in Iran, the Commissioner talks as if she is from another planet. We should listen to the calls and demands of millions of protestors in Iran. “
Stevenson also said that Mr. Mir Hossein Moussavi, a presidential contender in the regime’s elections, was the mullahs’ prime minister for 8 years and tens of thousands of political prisoners were executed during his tenure. He is, therefore, not the real choice of the Iranian people but a sign of people’s anger against the entirety of this brutal dictatorship.
Alejo Vidal-Quadras, Vice President of the European Parliament, said: We should keep up the pressure on the regime since the policy of appeasement has been a failure and foreign military confrontation is also undesirable. This renders the third option, democratic change by the Iranian people and Resistance, which was proposed by Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), the best option. We should actively support the Iranian people’s uprising. We remain optimistic that one day we will have free elections under UN supervision.
Mohammad Mohaddessin, Chair of the NCRI’s Foreign Affairs Committee, was the guest speaker at the EP meeting. He said in his remarks, “ The events of the past 40 days or so and the latest uprising on 21 July showed that as the Iranian Resistance and its allies had said, this regime is unstable, has no future, and the Iranian society has never accepted its rule. Iranians are using every opportunity to bring about change and establish democracy and people’s sovereignty. He added, “The situation will not revert to the past and the people’s uprising will continue. The People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) and the Iranian Resistance are active and are using use all their resources to strengthen this uprising in order to lead it to final victory. However, the policies of the West are not in line with the uprising. The continuation of appeasement will cause enormous damages not only for the Iranian people but for the European countries as well.
Friends of a Free Iran
European Parliament
Brussels
Friends of a Free Iran intergroup in the European Parliament (FoFI)
Honorary President: Alejo Vidal-Quadras, Vice President of European Parliament
Chair: Struan Stevenson (ECR)
Vice Chairs: Stephen Hughes (PSE Vice-President); Soren Sondergaard (GUE); Jan Zahradil (ECR); Tunne Kelam (EPP);
Photo: (Right to left) Alejo Vidal-Quadras, Vice President of the European Parliament, Struan Stevenson, MEP and Chair of FOFI, Mohammad Mohaddessin, Chair of the NCRI’s Foreign Affairs Committee.
